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Employment Law

Use ‘reasonable person’ test to gauge threat of lawsuit for allegedly offensive speech

02/24/2012
If a reasonable person wouldn’t find mild, isolated comments out of line, an overly sensitive employee will have a hard time arguing that they were offensive enough to warrant a lawsuit.

Dubious request for ADA accommodation? Be prepared to document rationale for denial

02/24/2012

What should you do if an employee produces a health care professional’s diagnosis of stress, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), along with a recommendation to reassign the employee? Do you accept that the employee is disabled and consider the reassignment as a reasonable accommodation?

Unions growing nationwide, but not in North Carolina

02/24/2012
Changing economic conditions and favorable rule-making in Washington helped U.S. union membership increase to 14.8 million workers last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Just don’t look for the evidence in North Carolina.

Retire or be fired? Put offer terms in writing

02/24/2012
Occasionally, a good employee messes up after years of service. Before you suggest that he retire instead of being discharged, have your attorney put the offer in writing.

Document why you denied FMLA leave request

02/24/2012

It may seem clear to you that an employee with a minor medical problem isn’t eligible for FMLA leave. But that doesn’t mean the em­ployee won’t sue if you turn down her leave request. That’s why you must be prepared to explain your decision.

For new mom with very ill baby, what are our FMLA and unemployment obligations?

02/22/2012
Q. A long-standing employee recently took FMLA leave to give birth, but her son has many medical complications. She exhausted her eligibility under our disability carrier and isn’t eligible for long-term disability because she herself is not disabled. We want her back, but she can’t commit to even 20 hours a week. What are our obligations under the FMLA, and would our employee be entitled to unemployment compensation if we terminate her?

What Pennsylvania employers need to know about medical marijuana

02/22/2012
Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have legalized some form of medical marijuana use, even though the federal government continues to classify marijuana as an illegal drug. Pennsylvania hasn’t yet enacted a medical marijuana law, but that could change thanks to legislation that has been introduced in the General Assembly.

Morgan Truck Body collides with $93,000 in OSHA fines

02/22/2012
Morgantown-based Morgan Truck Body has been cited for 24 safety and health violations at a factory in Georgia. The citations result from OSHA’s Site-Specific Targeting Program, which scrutinizes industries with high occupational illness and injury rates.

Matrix workers clean up with EEOC bias settlement

02/22/2012
Matrix Integrated Facility Management, one of the Philadelphia area’s largest commercial janitorial firms, will pay $450,000 to 15 former employees to settle EEOC race discrimination and retaliation charges.

Panera Bread gets double helping of bias litigation

02/22/2012
A Panera Bread franchisee faces an additional lawsuit charging racial discrimination in the wake of a manager’s suit that claims he was fired for refusing to follow a racist directive.